Memsic Launches Monolithic 3-Axis Accelerometer

Memsic Inc., based in Andover, Mass., has introduced what it claims is the world's first monolithic 3D accelerometer and the first to make use of wafer-level packaging.

The MXC400xXC makes use of Memsic's patented thermal convection, heated gas method to detect acceleration and inclination. The method has been used for many years by Memsic in single-axis or dual-axis form for automotive stability control and rollover detection, digital cameras, projectors, and many other applications. Memsic's designers have now combined 3D sensing with wafer scale packaging to reduced cost and size for mobile applications such as phones, tablet computers, toys, and wearable devices.

Memsic claims to offer a 60 percent reduction in cost and a 50 percent reduction in size but only partially benchmarks what it is comparing the MXC400xXC against.

The MXC400xXC provides 12-bit resolution on all three axes, programmable FSR of ±2g/±4g/ ±8g, an 8-bit temperature output, plus orientation/shake detection. With a package size of 1.2mm by 1.7mm, board space is reduced by 50 percent over industry-standard 2mm by 2mm products. As the MXC400xXC has no moving parts the sensor structure is extremely robust to shock and vibration and can withstand shock in excess of 200,000 G.

"While we have been supplying thermal accelerometers for more than a decade, the MXC400xXC is a real breakthrough in sensor design, signal processing architecture and MEMS WLP. This is the industry's first and only monolithic 3D accelerometer with full WLP technology, enabling us to achieve a new level of size and cost, which are critical for mobile consumer devices," said Yang Zhao, CEO and founder of Memsic, in a press release.

The Memsic MXC400xXC three-axis accelerometer is priced at $0.19 each in 100,000-piece quantities and is available in sample quantities.